Office of the Mayor
Media Release
14 October 2012
Auckland Trade Mission to Korea already yielding results
The Mayor is describing Korea as a major opportunity for export-focused Auckland businesses and wants Auckland to look
to Korea as an example of successful strategic economic development.
Len Brown is leading 17 Auckland businesses on a trade mission to Korea and Taiwan. In Korea, the delegation visited
Auckland's partner cities of Busan and Pohang, and the economic powerhouse, Seoul.
He says Korea's rapid transition from a rural country with few natural resources to a high tech and prosperous urban
society has lessons Auckland can learn from.
"Korea has a clear plan for the nation's economic prosperity. Central and local government, business, academia and
community sectors are all committed to delivering it.
"There is a strong national will to succeed despite obstacles like not having a lot of natural resources. Big factors in
that success are the strong focus on research and development, and local and central government being prepared to
significantly invest in economic development to achieve national prosperity.
"Korea has a joined up and holistic approach to that prosperity - we've seen a local and central government-funded
digital content hub that measures its success by the number of local jobs created, an online and mobile gaming company
focused on creating high value, high skilled jobs for people with disabilities, and research on how technology can
improve life for the elderly."
The Mayor's ability to open doors to key decision makers along with the determination of the Auckland business delegates
and the collaboration between Auckland Council, ATEED, the NZ Embassy and NZ Trade and Enterprise in Korea has been
described as a winning combination by the chair of the council's Economic Forum , Cr Arthur Anae, who was with the
mission in Korea.
"Investment in trade missions leads directly to generating jobs for Aucklanders, more foreign direct investment and
export opportunities for our companies. Alrite International is just one example of how our Auckland companies are
working hard to make the most of opportunities like this."
Bhaskar Sharma is CEO and Managing Director of Alrite International Ltd and he's been pursuing business opportunities in
Korea for 18 years.
"I know how difficult it is to get meetings with key players in Korea," says Mr Sharma. "You need to work through second
and third parties. On this trade mission, I not only got a meeting but an agreement. As a direct result, I will be
taking on more employees in Auckland and increasing our exports from Auckland into the Pacific."
The trade mission coincided with the Busan International Film Festival, in which Film Auckland is closely involved. The
Auckland Council controlled agency has been active in facilitating joint opportunities in the Auckland and Korean film,
animation and gaming sectors for many years, and is following up a number of potential projects to come out of the Busan
film events.
Len Brown says Korea is reaping the benefits of significant investment in infrastructure, and is now turning its efforts
to arts and cultural development as well as continuing its strong focus on R
"We're here to say to the world that Auckland is open for business. We want to leverage Auckland's high value export
opportunities through our partner city relationships in Korea, China and Japan.
"Our partner cities in Korea are harbour cities, manufacturing hubs with strong entrepreneurial spirits and innovative,
high-tech hearts. Our companies and research institutes are already collaborating in areas such as nanotechnology,
robotics, photonics, gaming, animation, and 3D conversion. There is further potential to work closely with Korean
partners on aquaculture and marine projects, and many other areas."
The delegation is now in Taiwan, visiting Auckland's partner city of Taichung and the economic centres of Taipei and New
Taipei before returning home on Friday.
Ends